Cleveland Centennial half dollar
The Cleveland Centennial half dollar was struck in 1936 and 1937. It was issued to mark the 100th anniversary of Cleveland, Ohio, as an incorporated city, and in commemoration of the Great Lakes Exposition, held in Cleveland in 1936. Thousands remained in dealer inventories for years, and the coins remain inexpensive.
About Cleveland Centennial half dollar in brief
The Cleveland Centennial half dollar was struck in 1936 and 1937. It was issued to mark the 100th anniversary of Cleveland, Ohio, as an incorporated city, and in commemoration of the Great Lakes Exposition, held in Cleveland in 1936. Thomas G. Melish, a coin collector, lobbied Congress to authorize several new issues, of which he would be the sole distributor. He was successful with the Cincinnati Musical Center half dollar, from which he profited greatly, and with the Cleveland piece. Brenda Putnam designed the Cleveland coin, which was approved by the Commission of Fine Arts after suggestions by sculptor Lee Lawrie. Thousands remained in dealer inventories for years, and the coins remain inexpensive by the standards of commemorative coins of the era. The full authorized mintage of 50,000 was struck. Though some of the coins were minted in 1937, there was no change of date, meaning collectors would have to purchase only one piece to have a complete set. As the law required to bear the year of striking, some coins were used on multiple mints in successive years at different mints, and enthusiasts would buy more and more varieties to keep their complete coin collections. The coins were struck at the Philadelphia Mint in 1936, though all bear the earlier date, though some bear the later date, as well as the date of the Cleveland Exposition of 1936. The coin was struck by the United States Bureau of the Mint at the time and could be purchased from any mint.
The bill was reported by committee chairman Alva B. Adams of Colorado on March 26, 1936, and had drastically amended on March 11, 1936. It would have provided all three of the mints of the time with all three pieces of the coin. The original bill would have been purchased from the U.S. Mint at any time, which could be provided by any or all mints then in operation. It had been introduced by Ohio’s Robert J. Bulkley on March 23, 1936; it was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency. The Ohio senator had also tried to get lawmakers to authorize other commemorative issues that he would control, but the only one of these that came to fruition was the Cleveland Centenary half dollar. In 1836, the town of Cleveland became a city in 1836. After the American Revolutionary War, the area known as the Western Reserve, now in eastern Ohio, was the subject of dispute among the states, several of which claimed it as part of their territory. Although political rights to the area were given up to the federal government, Connecticut kept land ownership, and used part of its holdings to resettle those whose homes had been destroyed by the British during the war. In 1830, a newspaper was founded, to be called the Cleaveland Advertiser. The editor found the name one character too long to fit in the printing form, and dropped the first “a” inCleaveland—a change that was adopted by the public.
You want to know more about Cleveland Centennial half dollar?
This page is based on the article Cleveland Centennial half dollar published in Wikipedia (as of Oct. 31, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
